Realization
by Ethe
Summary: During Christmas Break of his sixth year, Potter was the last person Draco expected to arrive on his doorstep. Especially with the Dark Lord right down the hall.
1. Chapter 1

**Realization**

Draco walked in the direction of the front door, the chime that announced a guest having gone off. As he made his way to meet them he couldn't help but wonder who it could be. Blaise was currently in Italy with his mother, Theo had been over just yesterday, and Pansy had said she would be coming over on the weekend. His mind whirled as he approached the entrance hall, wondering who would come precisely when the Dark Lord was at the mansion, this being the reason _he_ had the charge of greeting whoever it might be. He poised himself before entering the hall, freezing as soon as he saw who was standing inside the door waiting.

"Oh, hello Draco," came the words from the black haired youth who stood perfectly at ease on the marble floor, hands clasped loosely behind his back. The hair was longer and his face lacked his signature glasses, but the green eyes watching him most certainly belonged to Harry Potter.

Draco recovered quickly and pulled out his wand, aiming it at the boy. "Potter," he sneered. "What are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be at that hovel those blood traitors call a house?"

Harry chuckled. "No, we aren't staying at the Burrow this Christmas."

"As if that matters," Draco bit out, unnerved that Harry had yet to draw his wand or even take offense.

"Draco," a voice called as footsteps echoed towards the entrance hall. He smirked as his father appeared in the archway. "Why is it that I can hear you all the way from my study?"

"Sorry father, I was questioning Potter on his presence in our mansion, let alone how he got past the gates."

"Oh," Lucius advanced, eyes zeroing in on Harry. "My Lor- Har- Potter," he managed, finally settling on a name. "We weren't expecting you. Allow me to show you the way."

"Thank you, Lucius. I found my presence unrequired and decided to spend my time doing something more meaningful." Harry chuckled, falling into step behind Lucius as the elder made his way from the hall.

"Meaningful at all, you mean," Lucius replied, turning to smirk at the black haired teen who grinned in response.

"Father!" Draco interjected, hurrying up to Lucius's side. "What in Merlin's name is going on?"

"Do make yourself scarce Draco, I don't feel like wasting my time being in your presence."

"What was that, Potter?" he whirled around, wand aimed once again at Harry.

"Draco, do try and act your age. Go wait for me in my study."

"But father-"

"Now." Lucius commanded, turning to stare stonily at his son.

Harry and Lucius watched the younger blond retreat in the opposite direction, muttering to himself. Lucius sighed as the boy rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

"Sometimes I simply do not know what to do with him," Lucius said, once again walking down the hallway.

"I found it rather amusing actually, the way he was pointing his wand at me, as if it was an actual threat."

"You would," the blond sighed again.

Harry laughed quietly. "He's not that bad, he did manage to keep his surprise at your little slipup under wraps."

"I must confess that I still find myself uncomfortable calling you Harry, however I doubt he would have taken well to you being called 'My Lord'."

"Yes, I do think that was a wise decision on your part. My last name is generally safer. Ah, we've arrived." He announced, stopping at a set of heavy double doors.

"Indeed. If you need me I will be in my study as always."

"You won't be joining us?" Harry asked, a mischievous glint in my eyes.

"I believe I'll pass, and I do have to go and deal with Draco."

"Of course," Harry grinned. "The best of luck to you."

Lucius shook his head slightly as Harry opened the door and stepped in, softly closing it behind him. The blond made his way back the way he had come, wondering what exactly he was going to tell his son.

* * *

><p>"What is going on!" Draco demanded as soon as his father stepped through the doorway into his office, the door clicking shut behind him.<p>

Lucius sighed and made his way to the liquor cabinet, pouring himself something strong. "You've met the lord staying with us, yes?"

"I don't think I could have missed the fact that the Dark Lord was staying with us." Lucius shot him a look. "Fine, yes, Lord _Marvolo_ our _other_ guest. What about him?"

"Potter is here to see him."

"Seriously?" Lucius just raised his eyebrows. "Oh _honestly_. You can't expect me to believe that Potter is at _our manor_ to visit one of our Lord's top supporters while said lord is currently in residence."

"I does not matter whether you accept it or not, Draco. It seems to two of them met shortly before the end of your fourth year at Hogwarts and have been in touch ever since. As far as I am aware Potter knows perfectly well just where Marvolo stands, and he appears completely unfazed by it." Lucius shrugged. "Potter has visited him before, I find it more intriguing that you have yet to run into one another."

Draco snorted, he'd made a point of making himself scarce whenever they had guests over that he did not already know. His father knew that, and was using the opportunity to highly his delinquency. "Yes well, I wouldn't want to spend too much time in the manor, I might attract the Dark Lord's attention." _Or worse_, he thought to himself, _aunt Bellatrix's_. Family she might be, the woman creeped him out and he sincerely did _not_ want her taking an interest in him.

The elder Malfoy threw back the rest of his drink, standing. "We will have to continue this discussion later, son. He is calling, I must attend to our Lord."

"Of course, father," Draco replied, standing as his father swept from his room.

He waited until Lucius' footsteps were fading before making his way from the study, heading to where his father had been leading Potter. He moved quickly, trying to stay silent as he turned corners and went through various doors. He slowed as he heard voices, knowing that he needed to approach carefully so as not to let himself be noticed.

"Well, Lucius? What did the boy want?" Draco felt himself bristle at the tone the man used, but quickly stop, wondering what his father was doing in Lord Marvolo's rooms. Surely his father had said the Dark Lord had summoned him, not this man.

It was then that a laugh erupted from the room. "Come now Tom, it's obvious he wanted to know what I was doing here. He's never been around when I visited before, so he wouldn't know. I thought it was quite funny actually, he had his wand pointed at me, as if he could ever do me any damage!" Harry laughed again.

"He did?" asked the imperious voice he associated with Marvolo.

"Oh don't look like that," Harry said. "Like I said, he wouldn't be able to even phase me. Lucius would have had to alert me to that fact that he'd done something since I would likely barely have noticed."

"Forgive me, My Lord, but I honestly do not find that very comforting."

"You know, Lucius, I think I'm just going to have to start ignoring you when you call me that. How many times have I told you to call me Harry? We'll have known each other for almost two years soon, do try and be less formal with me."

"Only two?" Draco could practically hear his father's raised eyebrow from his place in the hall.

"Yes, well I'm not counting the years you spent trying to kill me."

"What about me, then?" asked a snide voice that had yet to speak. "Have you only known me for a year and a half as well?"

"Don't even get me started on you. Merlin. Anyways, I thought we were discussing Draco and his penchant for putting his pointy little nose where it doesn't belong."

At this Draco simply couldn't hold himself back and he strode forward, throwing the door to the sitting room open. "How _dare_ you come into this house and insult me!" he raged, taking in the scene before him.

The reactions from those sitting were not those he had expected, to put it mildly. Lucius sighed from his seat and dropped his head into his hand. Harry ignored Draco in favor of stirring his tea, while the man sitting next to him, Lord Marvolo, simply stared at him over his cup. _Why are they sitting so close?_ Draco asked himself, eyes narrowing as he took in Potter and Marvolo, before widening as they landed on the mystery voice: Severus Snape.

"How kind of you to join us," Snape drawled, rolling his eyes at the teen still standing in the doorway. Then, turning to Draco's father, "You see, Lucius? This is why I advised you to set those charms on the doors."

"It has been noted," Lucius groaned, face still hidden in his hand.

"I do not believe I asked for you presence," Marvolo spoke up, eyes still trained icily on Draco.

"As if I have to take orders from _you_ in my own home," Draco shot back, glaring at the man.

The effect was instantaneous and confused Draco more than anything. The man's eyes had narrowed, appearing momentarily red. Lucius and Severus had both taken sharp inhalations of breath, eyes sharply trained on Marvolo. Harry, however, seemed completely unconcerned and took a sip of his tea, eyes closing softly as he did.

"Tom, we really should get some more of this tea. It's truly a masterpiece."

Marvolo's eyes, though still narrowed, slid to Harry before blinking, the red trace disappearing from them. "Yes, I think we shall. I find myself rather fond of it as well," he said and something in the atmosphere seemed to soften. Lucius looked reservedly relieved, while Severus stared at the black haired youth in disbelief.

"I will never understand you two," Lucius said, almost reverently, relaxing back into his seat.

Harry laughed. "That's okay, poor Severus is just as lost. Look at him, I think his face might be frozen that way." At which point Snape snapped his expression back to the one that Draco was so familiar with and shifted his eyes to the blond teen.

"Can we help you, Draco?"

"_Yes_. You can start by explaining what in Merlin's name is going on! Why is Potter here? Alive, no less! And since when are you all such close and personal _friends_?" he practically spat, face turning pink. "I mean, come _on_! The Dark Lord is right down the hall!" At this point the four still sitting in front of the fire exchanged glances and burst out laughing, some more restrained than others.

"Oh my," Harry gasped, finding himself once again able to breathe. "This is priceless. I'm going to have to show Blaise the memory, he's never going to believe me otherwise."

Snape rolled his eyes. "What did you two bet on?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Harry said, smirking.

"You bet on the boy's reaction?" Marvolo asked.

"Of course. First we bet on when he'd find out, of course. After I won that one he suggested betting on Draco's reaction, thinking that having known him for sixteen years would have given him the advantage."

"Obviously not," Snape sighed. "Is that why he constantly burst into song that one week last year?"

"Yes, I set it so that the spell would activate whenever he heard, saw, spoke, or thought the word Griffindor. He would walk past me glaring and then slip up and start serenading me instead."

"Remind me why you're in Griffindor again, Potter?"

"Because it helped further my goals," Harry said, smirking at the potions professor.

Snape rolled his eyes. "Of course."

"Oh no, don't mind me. I didn't ask any questions. That's all right, just continue **ignoring me**."

"So overdramatic, this one," Harry murmured. "Fine, fine. Have a seat," he said, a chair pulling up as he waved his hand towards it. "Certainly you remember the incident, during the Third Task two years ago?"

Draco nodded slowly, looking apprehensive at how willingly Harry was divulging this.

"Well, it went down a little differently than how you heard," he said, watching as Lucius and Marvolo caught each other's eyes and smirked. "We've been…getting to know each other ever since," Harry continued, sneaking a glance at Marvolo.

"That still doesn't explain why you're _here_. I mean, honestly, the Dark Lord is right down the hall!" Draco began again as Harry's eyes shifted and focused on the door.

"Lucius?" Narcissa's voice floated through the door as she knocked and opened the door. "Oh good, you're both here. Lucius, I need you and Draco to help me with the plans for the ball."

"Of course, dear. Forgive me, my Lord," he said, standing and bowing to Marvolo who simply waved him off. "Come along Draco."

Draco's eyes shifted between Lucius, Snape, and his mother before landing on Marvolo and Potter. The last two were leaning close to one another having a whispered conversation.

"Yes, I think I'll join you," Severus announced, rising and heading for the door. Having no choice but to follow, Draco stood as well, shooting the two on the sofa one last glance as the door swung shut.

"I can't believe you almost left me in there with them," Severus complained, walking ahead of Draco with Lucius.

"Oh please, they would have restrained themselves."

"Exactly. Except it would have been painful for all of us. I think Harry would eventually just snap and kick me out."

"What? Why? What are you going on about now?" Draco cut in.

"Oh nothing, just the usual with those two."

"The usual?"

"Draco, why do you think Potter comes here?"

"Isn't that what I've been asking _you_ the whole time?"

The two adults stopped and glanced at each other before turning towards Draco. "You honestly don't know? You couldn't tell?"

"Obviously not. All I saw was that they were sitting a bit close to one another."

"Draco…they're involved."

"I could tell that much, thank you very much."

"Oh for Merlin's sake. Lucius, you're too subtle about this to get through to him. They're having sex. That kind of involved."

Draco just stared, disbelief showing much too clearly on his face. His eyes widened and he blushed before quickly paling. "Potter's gay?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "Let's hurry along, I don't think Narcissa will take well to being kept waiting for too long."

* * *

><p>Harry took a sip of his tea as the door closed. "This tea really is good, though."<p>

"I know, I was not merely going along with your method of calming me down."

Harry hummed in agreement, holding his cup close to his face.

"Harry?"

"Tom?"

"Don't play with me, child."

"I don't think you should be calling me that, especially when you're trying to get in my pants."

"Forgive me for being irritated after dealing with Draco. Honestly, if I weren't pretending to be some visiting lord I would have cursed him for being so obnoxious."

"Really?"

"Don't take that tone with me. You didn't like his questions any more than I did, it shows in the way you summoned Narcissa."

"Tom?"

"What?"

"You realize I didn't come here just to sip tea and talk, right?" he asked, placing his cup on the table.

"Thank Merlin," Tom groaned, leaning forward and placing his lips on Harry's, pressing the younger back onto the sofa.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I'm marking this as complete just in case, however I have somewhat started to write more to it. My motivation is somewhat lacking, so there are no guarantees. That is also the reason it's marked M instead of T, simply because you never know.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is the part two that I promised you, all the reviews and favorites and alerts were wonderful motivation. I never knew how excited they could make me until I got them, so keep it up!**

* * *

><p>It was a few hours later that Draco encountered Harry again, having spent said hours pondering the whole situation. Draco stopped in the kitchen doorway, staring at the stove where Harry was fixing something.<p>

"We do have house elves, you know, Potter."

"I know," Harry said, turning away from the stove to face Draco. "But I'd rather make it myself."

Draco took in Harry's appearance as he made his way into the kitchen, sitting at the table and watching the black haired youth. He noted that Harry's shirt was only half buttoned and that he was barefoot, his hair more disheveled than usual.

"Hot chocolate, Draco?"

"What?" That worthy asked, bewildered.

Harry just chuckled. "Do you want some hot chocolate? There's enough for another cup if you do."

"Uh, no offense Potter, but why should I believe you aren't going to poison it before you give it to me?"

"Because," Harry started, amused, as he moved over to take three mugs out of the cabinet, "Tom would never let me hear the end of it if I accidentally poisoned his hot chocolate."

Draco didn't know quite how to respond to that one, and therefore numbly accepted the mug Harry handed him. It was as he watched Harry mix sugar into the two cups in front of him that he remembered to ask him something.

"You're friends with Blaise?"

"Yes. I'm very much looking forward to what I'm going to have him do next."

"How did that happen? You being friends, I mean. He hasn't said a word about it to me."

Harry laughed a bit from where he was still mixing sugar into one of the cups. "Tom was playing hide and seek with me a year ago, where I would have to find out where he was staying. I'd noticed Blaise a few times when I'd visited Tom before, so I asked him where the newest hideout was."

"And he simply told you?" Draco sat back, a bit alarmed.

"Well no…but he wasn't as difficult as he could have been, because I'd let him see me at those hideouts as well. To sum it up, there was a bit of manipulation, blackmail, and skillful coercion to get him to tell me." Harry smirked as he finally stopped ladling sugar into that second mug.

Draco figured that was about as good as he was going to get right now. "Please tell me you aren't going to drink that…" he said, pointing to the mug that had to be at least a third made up of sugar. Harry laughed and took a sip of the other mug, making his way from the kitchen.

* * *

><p>"Here," Harry said, handing Tom his mug. "I ran into Draco in the kitchen, he was much calmer."<p>

Tom hummed, sitting up a bit and propping the pillows behind him. "Well that's certainly an improvement, perhaps that brat is finally improving."

"Maybe we can tell him who you are sooner than expected."

"I think it's a bit of a leap to suddenly jump from announcing that you're gay and buggering someone on the opposite side of the 'war' to telling him that I'm Voldemort."

"Well…we can see if he keeps this secret. No one has told him to keep quiet yet, but if it doesn't hit the papers tomorrow morning then I think it's safe to assume he's more mature than we thought."

"Perhaps," Tom allowed, finally taking a sip of his hot chocolate. He grimaced. "What did you do to this?"

Harry laughed and took sip of his own mug before placing it on the bedside table. "I was trying to freak out Draco, and I figured you'd be needing the energy." He took Tom's cup and placed it beside his own.

"Really? What for?" Tom asked silkily.

"I can think of a few…activities."

"Who thinks you're innocent?" Tom muttered under his breath as Harry slipped of his shirt and slacks, moving forward to straddle his lover.

Laughter bubbled up as Harry was flipped and pressed into the plush bed. "No one who really knows me," he answered, lifting his head to kiss the man above him.

* * *

><p>It was the twenty-ninth when Blaise stepped into Malfoy Manor, having returned from Italy. He was just handing his cloak over to a house elf when the door opened behind him and Harry stepped inside, dusting himself off a bit. He looked up, green eyes focusing on Blaise, and smiled at his friend.<p>

"How was Italy?"

"The same as always, but still nice. Should you be visiting here so openly?"

"Potter! Blaise!" Draco practically ran into the foyer, stopping in front of them. "Potter, I don't think you should be here right now. The Dark Lord is in a foul mood and whatever twisted understanding you might have with Marvolo is certainly not going to save you right now."

"Foul mood?" Harry's eyes narrowed. "Who's in with him?"

"Potter, you aren't going to go and _see _him are you?"

"Answer the question, Draco."

"My father and Severus."

"Where?"

"The Hall."

Harry took off, walking at the same speed Draco had entered with. He was clearly a man on a mission, and nothing was about to stop him.

"Nice to see you too Draco, my Christmas was wonderful, thank you for asking," Blaise drawled, heading for the parlor.

"Oh come now, Blaise, don't be like that." Draco followed his friend, and shut the door once they were in the room.

Blaise just grunted as he settled into the sofa. "So you know about him? How long?"

"About a week, that was when he was here last. It was quite the encounter." Then, turning to glare sharply at Blaise, "You never told me!"

"Of course not, you would never have believed me. 'Oh hey, Draco did you know that Harry Potter and the Dark Lord aren't out to kill each other anymore? And what's more that they're shagging?'" Blaise shook his head. "Yeah, that would have gone over real well."

"What? Potter's not shagging the Dark Lord, he's shagging that Marvolo bloke."

Blaise just stared at him in disbelief before dropping his head into his hands.

"Draco, _of course_ they're shagging. Why _else_ would the Dark Lord stop trying to kill him. Lord Marvolo _is_ the Dark Lord. _Merlin_ you're dense."

"No…"

"Yes, Draco. Why else would everyone be so afraid of him? Look, let's go to the Hall and I'll show you." Blaise stood up and grabbed hold of Draco's arm, dragging him into the hallway.

* * *

><p>Harry threw open the doors to the Hall and strode inside, effectively interrupting the Dark Lord's outburst. "Out!" he ordered, heading unwaveringly for the throne ahead of him. Severus and Lucius glanced at each other, back at their lord, and promptly left. Harry never stopped walking and reached the throne right as the doors closed. He ascended the steps and stopped in front of the Dark Lord, moving one knee forward to land on the outside of his lap on the left, his other knee coming up to frame the right side. He brought his hands up to cup Tom's face as the glamour fell, leaving Harry staring into dark eyes.<p>

"What's wrong? What's happened that Draco came out and told me I should leave to save myself?"

Tom's eyes burned for a moment before he closed them. Sighing, he leaned back in his throne, letting out a deep breath before opening his eyes again and focusing them on the teen straddling his lap.

"Dolohov."

Harry hummed. "That one's not good for much, is he?"

"I wonder what he ever had to offer in the first place, or whether I was simply desperate for followers when I marked him."

Harry chuckled a bit at that as he leaned in, gently pressing his lip's to Tom's.

"I _cannot believe_ this!"

Harry groaned as the new voice erupted into the Hall, he dropped his head onto Tom's shoulder as he waited for what was sure to follow.

"First you lead to believe you're shagging Lord Marvolo. As if that wasn't quite enough of a shock right there, you being gay and doing someone on the other side of the war, you omit the part about Lord Marvolo being the _bloody Dark Lord_."

Harry shifted his hand to cover Tom's hand, knowing that the man was about to pull out his wand for a long-awaited _crucio_. He kept his hand firmly on Tom's as he lifted his head and turned it to look at Draco, standing just inside the Hall in all his outraged dignity. As Harry's eyes shifted to Blaise the boy just shrugged, looking thoroughly unrepentant.

"Draco, did it never occur to you that perhaps you should follow your own advice?" Harry's voice was flat as he stared at the blond.

The remark brought Draco up short. "Advice? What advice?"

"When you told me that I should leave before Voldemort killed me. Did you never think about that when you burst into this room? That perhaps you should value your own life and _not_ interrupt what was sure to quite a promising evening?"

"Promising…" Draco trailed off and blushed as he took in just how the two on the throne we positioned. Now that he was actually thinking he wondered how he could have missed the suggestive posturing. If nothing else, he should have noticed that Harry Potter was _straddling _the Dark Lord. "I…I just…"

Harry sighed. "Blaise, remove him from the room before I do it myself. I can guarantee my way won't be pleasant _or_ painless."

Blaise smirked a bit as he tugged his friend from the room, closing the door behind them.

"Well, that solves that little issue."

"Which issue?" Harry asked, turning to face Tom again.

"Of whether to tell him who I am or not. It seems to have been taken out of our hands."

Harry slumped forward. "Well, at least he was only offended that I hadn't told him." Rolling his eyes he added, "At least he's not suddenly acting all subservient or trying to kill me. I have enough of that from your other Death Eaters, thank you very much, I don't think I could have handled it from Draco too."

Tom hummed, amused, before responding. "Something you said caught my attention…"

"What did I say?"

"It seemed you were implying that we couldn't still have an engaging night together…"

The Dark Lord smirked as Harry's hand's immediately cupped his cheeks, pulling him in for a fierce kiss.

* * *

><p>"He's right, you know, you're insane," Blaise remarked conversationally from where he stood with Draco outside the Hall.<p>

"I just...wasn't thinking," the blond admitted, letting his head fall into his hands.

"That, I should think, was obvious. Who in their right mind bursts in on the Dark Lord, you should be glad Harry stopped him from cursing you."

"He did?" Draco's head snapped up to stare at Blaise, who simply rolled his eyes.

"He grabbed our Lord's hand as he was reaching for his wand. Honestly, how did you survive five years at Hogwarts if you're this slow?"

Draco's indignant reply was cut off by a low moan from the Hall.

"Perhaps we should go back to the parlor," Blaise said, grabbing the shell-shocked blonde's arm and leading him away.


End file.
